Darkened Melodies
by Boku Hetalian
Summary: Roderich Edelstein has practically lost all hope when he's robbed of his sight after winning first place at his schools talent show. Now he must learn to cope with a life in darkness and a life without playing his beloved music. That is, until he is sent to the private school Gakuen Academy where he meets a lovely Hungarian girl and befriends an over confident Prussian.
1. Prologue

~Prologue~

Roderich Edelstein stood beside the school piano and bowed as he was applauded by his fellow peers, teachers, and others who had come to attend the talent show that night. It was the final day of school for the highschool students and summer break would officially begin after this night. While Roderich was still fairly new at Garden Grove High, he had made many friends, played the piano in concert band, and maintained good grades for the whole of the final semester; life couldn't be better for the Austrian. Smiling at the crowd, he was able to spot his father sitting with his friends and walked down theshort staircase that had led to the stage to meet with them.

"You did very well, Roderich.", his father complimented with a grin. Comments like that were fairly rare with Roderich's father, being that the man already knew what his son was capable of and expected as much from him. The violet-eyed teenager grinned back with a nod of thanks as the night went on with more students coming on the stage to share whatever talent they had with those who had gathered in the auditorium. Some sang, others danced, one group had even reenacted a scene from the school play that had been shown that year. Eventually the time came for the winners to be announced and the finalists were called to the stage. There was a short reading from the principal, who recollected on how wonderful the schoolyear had been and how he wished everyone a happy and safe summer, along with the fact he looked forward to seeing them all again next year.

The runners up were called first, then came the moment everyone had been waiting for. "And now, the winner of this year's Garden Grove High School talent show is", the principal paused as he opened the envelope and read the name with excitement, " Roderich Edelstein!"

"I figured as much.", the voice next to the Austrian came in a whisper that had a hint of a growl at the end. Before the student had time to react, a tuft of his dark brown hair was pulled back and he was forced to turn around and found himself staring into a pair of piercing blue eyes that made the blood in Roderich's veins momentarily run cold. A few screams filled the air along with the calling of both students names, and Roderich only had moments to see his father and friends rushing toward him, before the student him decided to speak.

"All this year, I watched you 'Roderich Edelstein'.", he began and mocked the way the students name was pronounced and did so in his accent, " You were nothing when you came here, just some stupid foreigner. You didn't know anyone, you couldn't even speak english properly! Yet, you became the most popular kid here in a matter of months! You were exceptional in everything; you even took the place of the best pianist that this school had to offer! You took my place!" The unfamiliar student this all in rage, but Roderich saw the sadness in his eyes and he would have tried to say something to calm him down, but whatever words he tried to say died on the Austrian's lips and he watched his glasses being pulled off his face and thrown to the ground and the blade of a knife was balanced on the bridge of his nose. His violet eyes widened as he made a guess at what was about to happen. He made an attempt to grab the students arm, but stopped and cried out in pain as his head was pulled back on and he was forced closer to the students face, which now bore a sickening smirk.

" Let's see you play the piano after this.", he whispered and the next thing Roderich saw was the blade swiping across his eyes and he let out a loud shout as he raised his hands to cover his eyes. Then the student realized he couldn't feel the floor beneath him, but before he could question it, he felt a jolt of pain shooting through his spine as his body collided with the ground. The only noise he could hear was his own cries, along with muffled and distorted shouts of people around him. He wanted to take his hands away from his eyes and see what was happening, but he found himself in more pain as he tried to move them. He felt two arms wrap around his body and lift him up slightly as he found himself resting in someones lap. The Austrian recognized the voice of his father trying to calm him down, but he noticed that the mans voice shook as he spoke and the words slurred. Was his father actually crying? The man who had been thought to show as little emotion as possible had actually broken and was showing a side that even Roderich didn't know existed? The Austrian felt the presence of a few others gathered around him and recognized the voices of his friends trying to offer words of comfort, that he would be all right. The student guessed that they had formed a barrier around him to protect him from receiving any more injuries from the schools former pianist; if he hadn't been taken care of yet.

"Someone call an ambulance! Someone call nine-one-one now!", was the last thing Roderich heard as he felt himself slipping out of conciousness.

The next few minutes were unknown by the Austrian as he heard a few monotonous beeps echoing around him. With a groan, he attempted to sit up, which hurt more than he had expected it to. Raising a hand to his eyes, he felt a bandage that had been wrapped around his head.

"V-Vati?" , Roderich flinched and surprised himself with his choice of wording, he hadn't called his father by that name since he was a kid. He was about to correct himself, but froze when he heard a pair of footsteps approaching him. Sensing the boys fear, the person introduced themself.

"It's alright, Mr. Edelstein. My name is Rebecca, I'm a nurse here.", a womans voice assured and Roderich slowly nodded in acknowledgement as she continued," I understand you've gone through a lot of trauma tonight. Lay back down and rest please. Your father will be in here in a moment." There was another nod from the teen, but he didn't make any other movement. The nurse stared at him for a few moments, then turned and walked to the door of the hospital room and walked out.

"It's not your fault Mr. Edelstein. None of us would have been able to get to him in time.", a girl tried to whisper to the man who sat with his face buried in his hands. Not only had Roderich's friends had accomponied his father to the hospital, but nearly everyone who was present at the talent show that night. Except for the student who attacked Roderich, of course, he was now in the hands of the police. The man shook his head and quickly looked up, as footsteps approached.

"Mr. Edelstein? Your son is awake.", a nurse announced and the man quickly stood up and followed her as she led him back to the boys hospital room. His friends tried to follow, but were convinced to stay by one of the doctors, who explained that Roderich probably only wanted to see family at the moment.

"Roderich?", the teenager sat up straighter at his the sound of his fathers voice. He felt himself being pulled into an embrace, before being able to answer and heard his father continuously apologizing for not being able to get to him in time and that this happened to him. He continued this for several minutes, before a doctor stepped in. Roderich could hear what the man was saying, but didn't let much of it sink in until he mentioned he was going to take off the bandage, so he would be able to examine his eyes. Roderich once again nodded, showing he understood and he could feel the bandage around his face unravelling.

"Now Roderich, I'm going to shine a light in your eyes and you need to tell me whether you can see it or not.", the doctor explained. Roderich felt a confused expression spread across his face. The bandage was off, he knew that, but why was everything still dark?

"I'm shining the light now.", the doctor announced, but there was no difference in the Austrians vision.

"I don't see anything.", he said in a relatively calm voice, but he heard his father draw in a worried breath.

"What about now?", the doctor asked a second time, shining the light in Roderich's other eye.

He shook his head hesitantly,"N-nothing." He couldn't help the fact he had stuttered in that reply. He feared what the man had to say next. There was a quiet sigh, and the teen could hear the clicking of a pen and the scribbling noise of words being written down.

"I was afraid of this, I am genuinely sorry to you both; Roderich and Mr. Edelstein. Roderich, because of the injury you have received tonight, you are now legally blind.", the doctors words hit him like a punch in the gut.

"It's only temporary right?! He'll be able to see again eventually,won't he?!", Roderich's father cried in a near desperate tone.

"I'm afraid not, his eyes have suffered from permanent damage. I hate to be so blunt, but your son is never going to see again.", was the doctors too calm of a reply. All the while, Roderich sat still with his jaw hung half open. He wanted to stop existing right at that second; to die right on the spot. How would he be able to live his life like this?! How would he be able to play music again?! It was then Roderich heard his attackers final words before he was robbed of his sight, and those words made him feel unbearably sick.

_'Let's see you play the piano after this.'_

{ Okay, this is my first fanfiction and I'm very excited to be posting this and I'd like to state a few things. I am aware that besides the nurse, Roderich is the only character that has been referred to by a name; I meant to do this. All the other characters in this chapter, besides possibly his father, are unimportant and will probably not be seen again. I apologize for any grammatical errors, I am not the greatest when it comes to grammar; feel free to correct me whenever. Also, please give me some feedback on whether you enjoy this fanfic so far or not, I'd love to hear from you. Thank you for reading. }


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

While the days of summer passed like a breeze for most, each day for Roderich was like waking up in Hell; and it got worse with each passing moment. He had learned to use a cane and was fairly proficient with reading and writing in braille, but he rarely talked now and refused to go into public often. It was as if he thought that if he hid long enough, he would be forgotten by the people in his town and be allowed to cease to exist in that way. The Austrian cut himself off as much as possible from the world; he hadn't even dared to touch a piano since the night of the talent show. His violet eyes, the ones that used to shimmer as he played music and talked of it, were now dull with the absence of sight as they stared straight ahead at nothing. He still wore a pair of glasses throughout the day though as they partially hid the scar he had received from the knife that ran from the corner of one eye to across his nose then across to the corner of the other eye, even though the glasses didn't help his eyesight, they didn't hurt either. At least one thing about the teen had been kept the same.

As summer came to an end, Roderich's father informed him that he would be attending a private school this year. "It's for your own good Roderich.", the man explained as his son stared blankly back at him," You refuse to go back and face the old world you once knew, so you're going to have a chance to start over again at Gakuen Academy. If worse comes to worse and you decide you don't like that school any better, I suppose I could homeschool you." The teen cringed at the proposal of that idea; he loved his father, but homeschooling was the last thing he could imagine the man trying to do.

"The school is worth a shot, I guess.", Roderich replied in a disinterested tone. Before the teen even knew it, a few days had passed and his bags were packed and he was ready to be shipped off to this 'Gakuen Academy'.

The car ride was incredibly long and seemed to silent for nearly the entire way. Whenever the two attempted to talk to each other, the conversation always broke off in an awkward fashion.

"Promise me, you won't act this way toward everyone the entire year.", the old man nearly begged and only received a solemn nod from his son,"I mean it, Roderich. You're so depressing now, and while this behavior could have been understood at first; it's time you moved on. You need to live your life again, and you need to stop sulking in the corner of your bedroom. Haven't you realized that tears aren't going to change this in any way? You used to recite poetry and play Beethoven's fifth by heart. You used to smile so brightly whenever you were in front of a piano or playing the viola. I haven't seen so much as a grin on your face since, well since 'that night'."

Roderich tilted his head slightly in the direction of the man, not able to look directly at him, of course,"You say all those things. You tell me what I need and need not to do, and you know of how useless and worthless I feel. You know how dead I feel inside, and yet you expect me to plaster on a smile and pretend as if this there is nothing wrong?!" He would have gone on, but he couldn't think of any words to express why he felt so hopeless that would get through his fathers head. Silence occupied a few seconds, then Roderich heard his father utter a quiet apology, and the two did not speak another word to the other for the rest of the way.

The car slowed to a stop in front of a enormous building that was very elaborate; even for a private school.

"Well, here we are.", Roderich's father halfheartedly announced,"'Gakuen Academy.'" The teen didn't respond as his father explained that everything was already in order and someone was to help him make his way around the campus and he would eventually meet his roommate later. The teen stepped out of the car and was handed his cane along with his luggage. He didn't expect the hug his father gave him before saying a final goodbye and getting back in the car and driving off. Though he wasn't able to tell if his father was watching, the Austrian attempted a small wave.

"Mr. Roderich Edelstein?", a girls voice asked, causing the teen to nearly jump out of his skin as he turned,"I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

"N-nein.", he replied, clearly lying,"Don't do that again, though. Please."

"I understand, I should have let you know I was near you earlier. Forgive me.", the girl stated and did a small cursty, "My name is Elizabeta Hedervary, I was assigned to be your escort and help you find your way around the campus." Roderich nearly only replied with a nod, but he remembered what his father had told him to do.

"Uh, t-thank you, Elizabeta. It is very kind of you to do this. Where are we going first?", the Austrian tried his best to sound curious, and possibly friendly, but his voice was still in a fairly dull and uninterested tone and he struggled with finding words to say.

"Well, I was planning on taking you to where your classes would be first. The Headmaster made it so your schedule was the same as mine, so you won't have to worry about going on your own from class to class and I'd be able to help you if you ever get lost.", the Hungarian girl responded with a smile. 'Give him some time to warm up, Liz.', she thought,'The poor dear has been through a lot, judging by that scar. Oh, I hope he's not in any pain. Just keep being friendly, Elizabeta. Maybe he'll start acting a little happier once he gets settled in.'

"May I walk with you?", Elizabeta asked for the Austrian's permission, not wanting to startle him again. There was only a nod from Roderich this time and he extended his left hand for Elizabeta to take. The Hungarian smiled and took his hand and began to walk with him to the entrance of the building. She was careful to warn Roderich about the door and opened it for him. As the two walked down the main hallway, Elizabeta couldn't help but notice that Roderich was relying less and less on his cane until he finally stopped using it and was just simply holding onto the handle as he walked. "Don't you need that, Mr. Roderich?", she asked, trying not to sound rude as she did.

The Austrian seemed confused by the question at first, but shook his head,"Not at this moment, I can hear our footsteps echoing off the walls and I'm able to somewhat tell where I'm at in the hallway, so the cane isn't as neccessary as it would normally be. Plus, I hate using it, so whenever I think I'll be all right without it, I'll momentarily stop using it."

"Oh.", Elizabeta nodded with a understanding smile,"That's pretty amazing that your hearing is that good."

Roderich shrugged,"I've only been able to hear like this after I lost my sight."

'Well, that makes sense.', the girl thought,'When someone loses a sense, another one normally gets stronger doesn't it?' "If I may ask, what happened?", she questioned and looked up at the Austrian curiously.

Roderich blinked and tilted his head away from the girl, biting his lip. Elizabeta mentally face-palmed,'Idiot! He wouldn't want to talk about something like that so soon! What happened to letting him warm up?!' "I-I'm sorry Mr. Roderich, I shouldn't have said-"

"It-It's all right Elizabeta.", Roderich interrupted, turning his head back to her,"It's all right, I just don't want to talk about that right now. Also, please just call me Roderich, if you don't mind."

The Hungarian nodded, though she knew he wouldn't be aware of the response, and the two continued on in silence, except for when Elizabeta would tell Roderich about the classes they were taking and if the passed by an important part of the school that needed to be pointed out to the blind teen. After a while, Roderich froze in the hallway, it seemed as if he was trying to listen to something.

"Um, Roderich are you all right?", Elizabeta asked with a confused expression.

"Do you hear that?", he asked and turned his head in the direction of whatever he was listening to.

"Hear what?"

"The singing. Someone is playing a piano and others are singing along to it. I can't really understand what they're saying, but I hear them."

The Hungarian thought for a moment then giggled,"That's the chorus; they practice after school sometimes. Do you like music Roderich?"

The Austrian almost gasped at the wording; 'like' did not even begin to describe his passion for music. He wanted then, to tell her of all the instruments and pieces he used to be able to play. To tell her of all his favorite composers and how he dreamed to only be half as great as they were, but what was the point in it? What good was a musician who could no longer read music? "I enjoy listening to music, yes.", he settled for that answer, though his love for the arts was much more than that.

Elizabeta giggled again and led him down the hallway where the choir room was and they listened for a good while, then finished the rest of the tour. "Alright, I've taken you all over Gakuen, Roderich. Now, I'm just going to escort you to where your dorm is and you have a room mate. His name is Gilbert Beilschmidt, I've known him for quite a while, and well he's-"

"Incredibly awesome!", a loud and slightly raspy voice finished for her, and Roderich jumped at the sudden introduction. A teen with crimson eyes and hair as white as snow ran up to the two. "My name is Gilbert, as you were probably just told, but you can call me Gil and the only thing you know about me is that I am awesome.", the albino said as a greeting and practically ripped off Roderich's hand as he shook it. The Austrians grip on Elizabeta's hand grew a little tighter as he grew a little pale. The Hungarian immediately began chastising her friend.

"Gilbert, stop it! You're scaring him!", she shouted then pointed at her eyes as a signal for the albino to look a little closer at his new roomate. Gil tilted his head with a confused expession, then looked back at Roderich, his red eyes widening slightly when he finally took notice of the blank and dull look in the Austrian's eyes; he was never told his room mate was blind. The Prussian would have acted more calmly around him if he had known.

"Oh wow, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that-", he let go of his hand and awkwardly began to apologize, stumbling over his words slightly.

"You didn't realize that I was blind.", Roderich finished for him.

Gilbert scratched the back of his head and murmured a 'Nein' in response. Roderich was actually partially glad that his roomate didn't take notice of his disability right away, and that he was able to overlook it, but still the introduction startled him a bit more than the one with Elizabeta. The Hungarian and Prussian exchanged a few things with each other to make sure that each others schedules were sorted out and everything was in order for the first official day of school tomorrow, the Liz finally let Gilbert take charge over Roderich.

"Alright, just walk with me Roderich and I'll take you back to where our dorm is.", the albino stated and linked arms with Roderich instead of taking his hand. Roderich smiled a little as he walked with his roomate, barely saying anything as the albino went on about all he needed to know about the campus and classes. Though, they were both kind of being forced to be with him, Roderich felt as if he'd become pretty good friends with these two. Elizabeta, from what he knew, was sweet and understanding and Gilbert seemed to be funny and sounded like he was fun to hang around. 'Maybe this year won't be as bad as I thought.', Roderich thought as he walked on with Gil.

{ I know this is a bad chapter and I'm sorry. I'm not really good at writing for Elizabeta and I don't know how to type accents, so does anyone have any tips? I promise this will get better, I just wanted to get everyone introduced. Thank you for reading. }


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

{ Hi everyone, sorry this update took so long, I hope you guys are still interested in reading this and I'll try to update more often; I promise. Also, one person has brought it to my attention that many famous musical artists are blind and it's possible to be blind and still able to play the piano. I was actually already aware of this, in fact three of my favorite artists (Stevie Wonder, Jeff Healey, and Andrea Boccelli) are all blind, but I can understand why someone would want to point that out; so thank you. But Roderich hasn't realized that his musical career is still secure yet, he's still haunted by 'that night' and took the students threat to heart and hasn't mustered the courage to try and play again yet. Don't worry, that will soon change, but I just wanted to clear that up. Thank you again for reading. }

"We're here!", Gilbert announced as the two arrived at the dormitory, "Our dorm is on the fifth floor, and don't worry, there's an elevator inside."

"I can walk up and down stairs just fine, if you're trying to suggest that I'm not able to!", Roderich snapped, taking on a defensive tone. He wasn't sure what his roomate was trying to say or if he meant anything by it; Roderich had become a bit more high strung and quick to take offense to nearly any statement that could be relevant to his deprivation of sight. Now it wasn't as if he acted this way just to be rude or hateful, but he figured that if someone had something to offend him and he didn't catch it, it would be an invitation to throw more insults his way and walk over him.

"Hey, no need to get so defensive!", Gil replied with a confused look, what had he said wrong? How had he managed to anger his roomate so quickly, this had to be a record of some sort, even for him. "I can walk up and down stairs too, but that doesn't mean I'm going to voluntarily go up five flights when there's a quicker way!", he tried to explain, and stuttered on a word every now and again to make sure he didn't say something else that could possibly be offensive to Roderich.

The Austrian paused and bit his lip. 'So, he wasn't trying to be offensive and was simply trying to make some sort of joke?', he thought and sighed a little at the mans explanation,'And he's admitted that he's lazy. Great. Hopefully, he's not messy as well.' Roderich knew that last thought would probably be a give it with now knowing of Gilbert's laziness, but was it still bad to hope? He muttered a nearly silent apology for his jumping to conclusions and Gil gave an equally quiet grunt as response.

Gilbert didn't think to warn Roderich of a door or any obstacles in his roomates path, thinking it would just anger him again and besides, he had a cane to rely on so he couldn't be that bad off, right? The two were silent now as they walked inside the building and to where the elevator was and Gil pushed the button to call for it and waited. Seconds later there was a beep and the door opened, allowing the students to step inside. Gil pushed the button again, directing the elevator to rise to the fifth floor of the building. Roderich simply stood next to the man and waited as the elevator began to operate.

"So...", Gilbert began, breaking the silence between the two, which he couldn't take anymore due to his talkative nature.

"Yes?", Roderich answered in a confused tone after a few seconds, when Gilbert didn't continue.

"Uh, did Liz say anything? A-About me?", the albino stuttered anxiously, his face unintentionally turning red. Roderich raised an eyebrow and suppressed a quiet laugh when he realized what Gilbert was really asking about.

"She was about to say something, yes, but you interrupted her when you made your 'grand appearance'.", he said and had a bit of more trouble holding in his laughter now as he spoke.

"Oh.", was the man's disappointed reply.

"Was she supposed to have said something? Besides your claim of being 'awesome'?", the violet eyed man asked with a smirk.

Gilbert's crimson eyes widened slightly as he tried to search for an answer. "What?!", he exclaimed and faked a laugh,"Of course not! I just wanted to make sure she wasn't telling any stupid, unawesome lies about me!"

"Of course.", Roderich nodded with an edge of sarcasm in his voice, not buying a word of it, but he wasn't going to allow his roomate know that or else he might never hear the end of it from this man, and that would be dreadful considering they were going to be around each other for practically the entirety of the semester.

Before Gil could say anything else, there was a beep and the doors opened once again; Roderich did not hesitate for a moment to step out of the elevator and back into the hallway. The albino tried to think of some way to change the subject quickly, then he remembered he had to help Roderich with what direction they neeyed to go in to get to the dorm.

"It's just to the right, Roderich.", Gil said and linked arms with his roomate again, leading him down the hall. "My brother is actually a few doors down from us, I can introduce you to him later if you feel up to it.", Gilbert mentioned and smiled, trying to act more naturally than he had just previously had. Roderich paused for a second and pondered upon the offer and was about to decline, but he then remembered his fathers words and his plea for Roderich to be more open to people again.

"Sure, why not?", he said and gave a smile that he hoped was convincing.

"Great!", Gil cheered and stopped suddenly in the middle of the hall, confusing Roderich slightly as he did and halted at the same second with him. "Oh, sorry.", Gilbert apologized," The room is right here." Gil pulled a key from his pocket and stuck it in the lock, turning it until he heard a click and he opened the door and stepped aside so Roderich go in first. "Well, here we are. Home, sweet home, for now.", he said then quickly added, "Hey, be careful in here, I just have my stuff thrown around in here so nothing is organized, and you're about to trip-!" He stopped himself and ran and grabbed Roderich's shirt collar and accidentally part of his hair, before the man could go any further. That action nearly awarded Gilbert with a punch to the throat and consequently being hit with the mans luggage, if he hadn't ducked in time. "So that's the thanks I get for saving you from tripping over my backpack?", Gil asked sarcastically with a laugh then cut himself off when he saw the expression on Roderich's face. He could see an unforgiving look of anger slowly turn into a broken and almost helpless look.

"Hey, a-are you going to cry? Did the awesome me actually scare you that badly?", Gil hesitantly asked, throwing in a poor attempt at making a joke to try and keep his roomate from getting upset with him again. Roderich blinked and shook his head as a response adding quiet 'No', that broke off at the end. He took off his glasses and rubbed one of his eyes. Gilbert froze and turned a bit paler than what he already was when he saw the scar lining across the mans face. 'Wow.', he thought and cringed a little as he tried to think of what could have caused it, 'That had to have hurt like- Wait a second; is that what made him go blind? I thought he was, maybe, born like that. Crap, it's been silent for too long, say something Gil!'

"Uh... are you going to be all right?", he asked. Roderich nodded after a second. "Do you need anything?", he offered, and the Austrian shook his head. Gilbert went silent for a few seconds, trying to think of something else to say. Finally curiostity got the better of him. "Were you in a car accident or something like that?", he asked in a quieter tone, "The windshield broke and you were cut by the glass?" Roderich raised an eyebrow, confused for a moment, then instantly remembered that when taking off his glasses, he would be revealing his scar completely. He shook his head.

"No, it wasn't a car accident. It wasn't an accident at all.", he explained and sighed as he put the glasses back on, "I- I really don't want to explain right now, if you don't mind." Gilbert nodded with a frown and muttered an 'Okay', when he remembered Roderich wouldn't have seen the gesture. He was completely fine with the fact that Roderich wasn't ready to talk about something like this yet; it surely wasn't something someone could easily talk about especially now knowing that it wasn't a simple accident that caused that scar. The albino couldn't help but wonder what kind of 'arschloch' would hurt someone like that.

"So, uh...", Roderich started and broke off a little awkwardly as he tried to find words to say to change the subject, then remembered the luggage he held in his hand, "Where can I put down my stuff?"

"Oh, on the bunk bed or the floor; wherever you want.", Gil replied in a nonchalant tone, with a smile.

"Could you tell where the bunk bed is, then?", Roderich asked with a suppressed laugh.

Gilbert paused a second and thought, "Right now, it's directly beside you, to your left."

Roderich nodded and raised his left hand, smiling to himself when he felt the metal frame of the beds, and set his bag down on the lower mattress and set his cane against the frame.

"Where is everything else then? If you can, explain the directions to everything with using the numbers on a clock as reference.", he said, and continued on before Gil could ask what he meant, "For example, a desk might be at one o'clock or the bathroom at seven o'clock; something like that."

Gil thought for another few seconds. "Uh...well, right now everything would opposite from where I stand and-" Roderich interrupted the albino by turning so the two would be facing the same direction.

"Better?"

Gil laughed, "Well, I could have just stood beside you-"

"You're making this more difficult than it needs to be.", Roderich interrupted again.

"Well, how do you expect me to explain anything if you keep cutting me off like-"

"Alright, then I'll stop.", Roderich smirked, then added before Gilbert could try to begin another sentence,"Yes, I'm doing this on purpose now."

Not even a second passed and the two bursted into laughter. Gilbert did eventually tell Roderich where everything he needed to know was from the writing desk in front of the window, to the small kitchen at the other side of the room, and the bathroom next to them. Gil also mentioned a televison on the wall and that he had some DVD's that he had brought with him. Then the albino thought of something else. "Uh...how are you going to read and write in class?", he asked a little hesitantly.

"Using braille.", Roderich said, turning back to the man with a shrug, figuring the answer would have been obvious to his roommate. Gil's red eyes only widened a bit and he tilted his head in confusion; he had heard of braille once or twice, but he didn't know much about it.

"Wh- what about textbooks?"

The Austrian tilted his head for a second, then shrugged again,"I'll just have to check to see if there are any in the library that are in braille. If all else fails, I'll just have to get normal ones. And if I do get those, would you mind reading the words out loud to me?"

"Not at all!", Gil smiled, "We better check now before the library closes today, though. It would be chaotic if you tried to go tomorrow with everyone else."

Roderich nodded, "Thank you."

"Not a problem.", Gil said as he took his roomates arm again. The two walked back to the door of the room and walked out to the elevator and eventually out of the dormitory. Once outside, they began making their way to the library which was conveniently on the complete other side of the campus. The albino wasn't sure if they'd make it in time before the building would close for the day, but he wasn't going to try to rush Roderich; besides this would be a good chance to talk and get to know this guy a little better. Gilbert was curious to know more about his new roommate and friend, but he knew Roderich wasn't just going to be an open book to him; he also feared what secret the violet eyed man was hiding when he said the scar he bore wasn't from an accident. It may also explain how he had reacted when Gil tried to stop him from tripping and falling. Gil now looked at the man with a more saddened look; this guy had been through a lot and he could now see it. 'I wonder when he'll tell me what happened.', he thought as he turned his attention back to the path ahead of them as the two walked to the library.

{ I know, I could have made this chapter longer and I'll probably end up editing it before the next chapter, but oh well. Again, I'm sorry for the lack of updates, I'll try to get better with that; thank you. }


End file.
